Just Ghosts
by Kilroy1991
Summary: A Splicer reflects losing his love during the Kashmir attack. (Please Read and Review)


A lone splicer walked into the Kashmir Restaurant through the door that connected it to the Footlight Theater. On his face he wore the blood stained mask of a rabbit. In his right hand he held a record player and in his other, a record that he had stolen from Rapture Records a few days after the New Year's Eve riots. It was hard to sneak it out of the record store. The store owner almost incinerated him. But there was a purpose for this specially chosen record.

The splicer was still wearing the same close that he had worn on that sad New Year's Eve. His once clean white shirt, gold vest and black pants were know filthy, spattered with dried blood, gore and partially eaten by moths. He wore the mask of a rabbit on his face to hide his drooping, ulcerous skin and sunken eyes. The mask was old, dirty and spattered with blood. He walked up to the stage and he sat down beside the microphone that stood in a pool of blood. On the stage sat a few speakers, one each side of the stage sat a brown sofa. He sat down beside the pool of blood and he sat the record player next him.

He could see the former owner of the restaurant, Brenda and her lover, Charlie, having an argument at the cocktail bar in the far right corner of the room. He wished they would shut up. His hand went to the pistol that hung in his belt. He pulled the hammer back and he pulled the pistol out of his belt. But then he remembered how good of a friend Charlie had been to him and so he decided not to shoot them. He sat the pistol on the ground near the record player, the hammer still cocked.

"You gotta be ready for anything," he mumbled madly to himself. "Anything."

He put the record gently on the record player and the record began to spin. He placed the needle of the record player on the record and then the song, 'If I Didn't Care' by The Ink Spots began to play softly. He had done this once every month to keep the sad memory of what happened here alive in his mind. Everything else was forgotten on the count of his splicing addiction. He began to feel sadness. It was only when he came here that he felt that single emotion, any other time his emotions were hate and anger.

His head began to hurt and he saw ghosts appear. The dance floor was filled with masked couples dancing with one another and in the middle of the floor he saw her. Francine. There she stood next to the stairs wearing the same red dress that he remembered her in. Her long blond hair had been put up into a bun and her smoky gray eyes were staring right through him. She wore the mask of a cat on her face. The memory of what had happened came back to life…

* * *

He sat on the sofa next to the stairs on the bottom floor of the Kashmir Restaurant looking at the floor. He twiddled his thumbs nervously and he began to wonder, could he actually get up enough guts to ask a girl to dance? He and his friends had dropped in to check out the New Year's Eve party. His friends had found a few girls to mess around with and so they decided to stay. He wouldn't had been at this party if not for is family. He was lucky enough to have been born into a wealthy family. Those poor people got it hard. He looked up and the dance floor was crowded with couples dancing to the music.

"I'll never be able to get a girl," he said to himself. He got up and walked over to the cocktail bar in the corner of the room. On the wall above the bar hung two televisions, each were on a station that repeatedly played Ryan's propaganda. Behind the bar stood Charlie, he wore the mask of a bird. He ordered a brandy from Charlie.

"Any luck with the dames, Henry," he asked, pulling a bottle of brandy off the shelf.

"Are you kidding? I'm afraid to try."

"Ah," said Charlie pouring the brandy into a glass. "You'll do fine. Just think positive. It usually turns out well when you think positive."

"Really?"

"Sure. I know where you can start. Take a look at the dame by the stairs," Charlie said.

Henry downed his drink and turned around. That's when he saw Francine. She stood all alone next to the stairs. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. She has full lips, blond hair, smoky gray eyes and what a body. He was surprised she was all alone. He said to himself, "Ok Henry, you can do this. Just walk over and ask her."

He mustered up his courage and he casually walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Hen…Henry Watkins," he stuttered nervously. "You want to dance?"

He felt so stupid he in the words came out. He blew it, there's no way she would want to be seen with a worm like him.

"Sure," she said with a smile.

"Really," he said surprised.

"Really. My name's Francine Hartigan."

The band stopped playing and the masked man behind the microphone announced, "Folks, we're going to take a small breather, but we'll be back before you know it."

The band and the man walked off stage and towards the bar.

"You wanna find a seat," Henry asked her.

"Sure," she said.

He led her over to a brown sofa sitting on the other side of the stairs. He sat down and then she sat down next to him. She scooted down a bit and became really close to him. His palms began to sweat as he got nervous. She took his left hand and she said calmly, "Don't be nervous."

"It's hard not to be when I'm sitting next to a girl like you."

"It's ok," she said softly. "You've got nothing to worry about. I like you."

"Really?"

"Yea, you're the only guy here that hasn't said something rude to me. Really you haven't said much to me at all. Let's talk," she said.

After they had talked for about six minutes Henry exclaimed, "Where have you been all my life." She smiled and blushed. The band had finished with their break and they were back on stage. The man at the microphone whispered something to the band and they began to play the song, 'If I Didn't Care'

Then the man at the microphone began to sing, "If I didn't care, more than words can say. If I didn't care, why would I feel this way…"

Henry got up and led Francine out onto the dance floor, while other couples also made their way to the floor. He and Francine stood in the middle of the crowd, held each other close and began to slow dance. Even in a crowded room they felt that it was only them dancing. He began to feel his heart beating faster, it was like no feeling that he had ever felt. It all felt like a dream, could it be? No, it wasn't. When the song was reaching its end, they stopped dancing. He lifted off her mask to reveal her beautiful face and she lifted his. Then he kissed her. At that moment the world seemed to stop. There was no Rapture. It was just him and her. Nothing could ruin this moment.

A gunshot rang out from upstairs followed by someone shouting, "Long live Atlas! Death to Ryan!"

The sound of gunfire and screams filled the restaurant. A grenade was thrown over the railing from upstairs. Atlas's rebels were attacking. Everyone scattered in all directions, Henry dove to the floor covering Francine with his body. The grenade exploded, killing a few bystanders. There was a section of the restaurant with a glass ceiling. The concussion from the explosion caused it to crack. Water began to run into the restaurant through the cracks.

Rebels began to jump over the railing on upper floor and they landed on their feet on the floor below them. Two dead bodies were thrown over the railing and the body's hit the wooden floor with a sickening thud. The rebels were armed and they all were wielding a Plasmid in their left hand. They began shooting at the crowd of people. Some of the people in the crowd where armed and began shooting back. Bullets flew through the air. People began to burst into flames, some were electrocuted, and others were tossed into the air by small tornadoes that had been placed on the floor.

Henry thought of how he could get him and Francine out safely. He saw that the door to the Footlight Theater was open. They made a run for the door. One of the rebels saw him, Francine and few others heading for the door and tossed a grenade into the doorway. When it exploded it cause the door and the concrete around it to cave it. Henry and Francine were thrown back by the explosion. Henry collected himself and he saw a pistol on the floor near him. He grabbed it and he shot at one of the rebels.

The man fell over dead with a bullet through his head. Another of the rebels took notice and he fired a shot at Henry. The bullet struck Henry in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and pulled the trigger. The man that shot him fell on the floor, dead. Henry dropped the gun and held his bleeding shoulder. He looked over at Francine who was scared to death and said, "Just stick close to me and we'll be ok."

She nodded and got up. They ran to the steps and up them. Most of the upper class had either been killed or had made it out of the restaurant. There was but Henry, Francine and three others left. As they made their way up the steps he noticed Charlie dart out the door. Henry was about to follow Charlie when a bullet struck his leg. Henry fell to the ground shouting in pain. Francine tried to help him up, but it was no use.

"Leave me," he shouted.

"No, I won't leave you," she shouted back with tears in her eyes.

"Go or they kill you!"

She didn't move.

He shouted, "Go, goddamn it!"

She told him that she loved him and kissed him one last time. She ran for the door, but one of the rebels noticed her. Henry saw the rebel aiming his pistol at her and he shouted, "Francine! Get down!"

It was too late. The man fired his pistol and the bullet struck Francine in the back. Henry watched helplessly as she fell to the hard wooden floor. He screamed her name hoping that she was still alive. But she didn't get up. The rebel who shot her turned his attention on Henry. The man stood over Henry with his gun aimed at Henry head. Henry closed his eyes and waited for deaths embrace but it didn't come.

"Hey Jimmy," said a man holding a shotgun.

Jimmy, the man who was about to kill Henry turned.

"What," he said angrily.

"Come on, we're going to join the guys up at Fort Frolic."

Jimmy looked at Henry and he lowered his gun.

"It's your luck day you greedy, rich fucker," he said to Henry with an evil grin. He hit Henry in the face with the butt of his shotgun and he ran off the join his comrades.

After he shook off the blow, Henry looked back at Francine. She had a hole in her back the size of a quarter and a pool of blood had begun to form around her. He stared at her and he began to cry. The only words he could muster up were, "I'm sorry."

* * *

But all that was long ago and she was gone, Henry had to face that. The ghosts had now disappeared and he sat on the stage alone. It's all memories now, just ghosts of the past. He wished that he had died with her that night. He would rather be dead with her than be the deformed spliced lunatic that he is now. The song had ended and began to replay itself.

"Do you need anything bud," said Charlie.

Henry looked up at Charlie's spliced face and said, "Fine…I'm fine."

"Good. You've seen the dames in this place tonight? They's some real beauts in the crowd tonight, Henry. Remember be confident like I told ya. Well, if ya need anything just let me know, pal," said Charlie.

Charlie then noticed Henry's pistol sitting next to the record player. Henry had turned away for a moment, so Charlie made a grab for it. He got Henry's pistol and he walked off before Henry turned back. Henry's didn't even notice. His mind was still lost in the past. Henry realized that he needed to go to the bathroom. He got up and he took off his mask and sat it on the floor next to the microphone. He was getting tired of wearing it. He couldn't hide what he had become behind a mask anymore. Then he hid the record player where no one would find it. It was still playing his song. Henry stood up and went upstairs and into the bathroom to relive himself.

"Look what I got, Brenda," said Charlie, showing her the pistol he had swiped from Henry.

She snatched it from his hands.

"Hey, give it to me," he said angrily.

"No way Charlie, it's mine," she said. He couldn't argue with her and plus he didn't feel like dying today, so he let her have it. She walked into the kitchen and after a few minutes she shouted excitedly, "ADAM! I found some it's mine!"

"What," said Charlie, as he headed to the kitchen door.

He tried to open it but he had locked it from the inside. He picked up a piece of pipe lying nearby and he began to beat on the door with the pipe and his fists.

"Damn it, Brenda," said Charlie angrily. "Let me in."

"It's my ADAM, I earned it," she said selfishly.

"Last time, open the damn door," Charlie shouted.

Charlie heard the stairs creak. He turned to see a tall man wearing a sweater and a pair of brown slacks. Charlie knew this man was an outsider and he had never seen him before. In his hand he held a pistol, which he had aimed at Charlie. For some reason the man's facial features reminded Charlie of Andrew Ryan. Charlie became enraged at the thought of Ryan and the intruder on the stairs. The man on the stairs fired his pistol as Charlie charged toward him. Charlie screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

Henry heard the gun shot and a cry of pain from Charlie from downstairs. He finished in a hurry and he hid in an empty stall. He shut the door and locked it. Another gunshot rang out, followed by another cry of pain which came from Brenda. Henry reached for his gun and then he realized he must have left it down stairs. He looked down and on the floor laid a large wrench. He armed himself with it and waited patiently. Another shot rang out. Henry didn't know who was just shot. He was sure he didn't know the person, because he didn't recognize her voice. It wasn't long till he heard the sound of someone outside his stall. Then his head began to hurt again. He heard Francine's voice in his head say, "Don't let him hurt me. Protect me Henry."

"I won't let you down," he whispered to the imaginary voice.

He charged out the stall shouting madly, "Don't you touch Francine!"

There was a flash from the barrel of a pistol and Henry's lifeless body crumpled to the dirty, tiled floor.

* * *

Jack lowered his pistol and looked at the dead splicer on the bathroom floor. Blood poured from the splicer nostrils and from the hole he put in its head.

"Who's Francine," Jack said to himself.

His radio crackled to life and Atlas said, "A past loved one maybe? Poor bastard. It's like I told you boyo, ADAM ruined our minds and body's. This man was no exception. Now keep on movin'. Wouldn't want to linger here long."

Jack nodded his head and stepped over the dead splicer.

* * *

Everything began to get brighter and Henry could see clearly. He noticed something was out-of-place. His clothes were clean. He felt his face and hair. A tear fell from his eye, he looked just like he did before he began splicing. Then there was a brightly in the distance and in the light stood the woman that he had longed to be with.

"Francine," he said, in a whisper.

She smiled warmly at him and motioned him towards her. He went without hesitation. He approached her and he held her in his arms and they kissed. In the back of his mind he could hear their song playing and he began to dance with her into the light. All he wanted was to be at peace with her and in the end he got it.


End file.
